SF Giants reportedly considered one of the favorites to land four-time Gold Glove winner

With Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto officially off of the market, the market for Matt Chapman is beginning to heat up. Jon Heyman of the New York Post recently speculated that the SF Giants are one of the favorites to land the four-time Gold Glove winner.

SF Giants reportedly considered one of the favorites to land four-time Gold Glove winner

Heyman adds that he believes that Blake Snell continues to make sense for San Francisco as well as Cody Bellinger to a lesser extent. The Giants have a glut of outfielders on the 40-man roster and they probably need to make one or two subtractions from that list before adding another. That said, Bellinger easily offers more upside than any outfielder currently on the Giants.

Heyman went on to refute the perceived stigma with the city of San Francisco. He called the Bay Area a "fantastic area" with nice suburbs and referred to Oracle Park as "incredible."

Heyman has received plenty of criticism from the Arson Judge fiasco from last offseason and much of it is earned. That said, he is well-connected throughout baseball, so if he holds this belief about the area, it carries weight.

Anyways, Chapman has long been connected to the Giants this offseason. It feels like there is a sense of inevitability between the two parties until he signs elsewhere. There are a lot of reasons why Chapman would be a fit for the Giants, including his prior ties to the Bay Area as well as his connection to new Giants manager Bob Melvin.

Chapman was drafted by the Oakland A's in the first round of the 2014 draft and spent the first five years of his major league career with the A's. Of course, Bob Melvin was Oakland's manager for the entirety of that five-year stint.

There are a lot of reasons why the Giants would be interested in the 30-year-old third baseman as well. They have a lot of money to spend and are looking to bolster a roster that only won 78 games in 2023.

The right-handed bat is coming off of a solid 2023 campaign in which he slashed .230/.330/.424 (110 wRC+) with 17 home runs, 54 RBI, and 66 runs in 581 plate appearances. This includes a 10.7 percent walk rate, 28.4 percent strikeout rate, and a .185 ISO.

The high strikeout rate is a bit of a concern, but he brings an element of speed that the Giants have been lacking. Chapman is not a huge base-stealer by any means but adds value on the bases nonetheless.

In the field, the seven-year veteran has a reputation for excellent defense. That trend continued in 2023 as he was worth +12 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and +4 Outs Above Average (OAA) while taking home his fourth Gold-Glove award.

Chapman is a well-rounded player even if his bat has declined in recent seasons. He is likely going to score a contract in the neighborhood of six years and $150 million. That may be a lot of money to spend on a player who is not considered a star, but he would easily be one of the best position players on the Giants' roster and makes the team better in 2024. Plus, the pitching staff would likely appreciate having someone as sound as Chapman at the hot corner.